Story of the Greeks - Helene Guerber

Elementary history of Greece, made up principally of stories about persons, giving at the same time a clear idea of the most important events in the ancient world and calculated to enforce the lessons of perseverance, courage, patriotism, and virtue that are taught by the noble lives described. Beginning with the legends of Jason, Theseus, and events surrounding the Trojan War, the narrative moves on to present the contrasting city-states of Sparta and Athens, the war against Persia, their conflicts with each other, the feats of Alexander the Great, and annexation by Rome.

Preface

This elementary history of Greece is intended for
supplementary reading or as a first history text-book
for young pupils.
It is therefore made up principally of stories about persons; for,
while history proper is largely beyond the comprehension of
children, they are able at an early age to understand and enjoy
anecdotes of people, especially of those in the childhood of
civilization. At the same time, these stories will
give a clear idea of
the most important events that have taken place in the ancient
world, and, it is hoped, will arouse a desire to read further. They
also aim to enforce the lessons of perseverance, courage, patriotism,
and virtue that are taught by the noble lives described.

A knowledge of ancient history, however superficial, is of very
great value; and the classic legends are almost equally worth
knowing, because of the prominent part they play in the world's
literature. These tales make a deep impression on the minds of
children, and the history thus learned almost in play will cling to
the memory far more tenaciously than any lessons subsequently
conned.

Many children leave school unacquainted with any history
except that of the United States; which, dealing with
less simple
and primitive times than that of Greece, is apt to be so unattractive
that the child never afterwards reads any historical works.
It has been my intention to write a book which will give children
pleasure to read, and will thus counteract the impression that
history is uninteresting.

A few suggestions to teachers may not be considered
superfluous. In the first place, I have found historical anecdotes an
excellent aid in teaching English. Pupils find it far from irksome
to relate the stories in their own words, and to reproduce them
in compositions. Secondly, whenever a city or country is
mentioned, every pupil should point out its location on the
map. By
such means only can any one properly understand an historical
narrative; and in the present case there is the added reason that
the practice will go far towards increasing the child's interest in
geography. Lastly, the teacher should take great care that the
proper names are correctly pronounced. The most common
errors are provided against in the text; for, on the first
occurrence of such a word, it is divided into syllables, with the accent
marked. It remains for the teacher to enforce the ordinary rules
as to the proper sounds of vowels and consonants.